In The

Supreme Court of the United States

JEROME B. GRAUBART INC.

v.

GREAT LAKES DREDGE & DOCK COMPANY

Decided February 22, 1995


Justice O’Connor, Concurring

CASE DETAILS
Topic: Judicial Power*Court vote: 7–0
Note: No other Justices joined this opinion.
Citation: 513 U.S. 527 Docket: 93–762Audio: Listen to this case's oral arguments at Oyez

* As categorized by the Washington University Law Supreme Court Database

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Opinion

JUSTICE O'CONNOR, concurring.

I concur in the Court's judgment and opinion. The Court properly holds that, when a court is faced with a case involving multiple tortfeasors, some of whom may not be maritime actors, if one of the putative tortfeasors was engaged in traditional maritime activity alleged to have proximately caused the incident, then the supposedly wrongful activity "involves" traditional maritime activity. The possible involvement of other, nonmaritime parties does not affect the jurisdictional inquiry as to the maritime party. Ante, at 541. I do not, however, understand the Court's opinion to suggest that, having found admiralty jurisdiction over a particular claim against a particular party, a court must then exercise admiralty jurisdiction over all the claims and parties involved in the case. Rather, the court should engage in the usual supplemental jurisdiction and impleader inquiries. See 28 U. S. C. § 1367 (1988 ed., Supp. V); Fed. Rule Civ. Proc. 14; see also ante, at 531. I find nothing in the Court's opinion to the contrary.

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